travels of a welshman: November's journey to Pwllheli.Cricieth

The day started for me at 5.00 sylvester had been out all night and decided to come to bed I mean under the covers something he never does a few paw taps on my face to make sure I was awake "I am Awake so why ar'nt you kind of paw strokes", still dark as is normal for a November I got the boy comfortable under the duvet then decided to go down and make a cup of tea, and ended with my deciding after seeing there was a clear sky and the internet said it was going to be a fine day, made a good breakfast my first cooked breakfast in 10 yers. bacon eggs beans and toast, and I was ready to explore more of my home land of Wales.
I caught the 8.05 London to Pwllheli, arriva wales train. they call it the London to Pwllheli train as most of the trains on the route travel from London especially in the summer taking folks on holiday to the mid and north wales coast including Butlins camp Pwllheli. in the winter the trains run at the same time but most start from Birmingham international airport station, airport should give a clue as to why the train begins or ends its journey here.
The train splits in Machynlleth two carriages go to Aberystwyth where the college has about 8000 students many travel to and fro at weekends,

this old bycycle has two plantings one in the front and one on the back

It seems this station is built from granite ballast stone the window and door surrounds are of sandstone. the bricks and cast iron work would be normally from Brumbo.


(Pic 4 )arriva has its own design for plant pots and its anyones guess how an original G W R bench is here on this station platform,

platform 1 wating room here I waited on the way home as platform 1 is the London return platform the shed looks circa 1930s all made from pitch pine

Here I had to wat 25 Minutes for the teain to my destination Porthmadog.

cannot see the reason for this stone wall over the hill in the flat estuary land,


The pine trees on the mountain across the valley in Machynlleth see pic 4..


the Dovey estuary wooden rail bridge

at Dyfi Junction the line splits and two carriages go the north coast to Pwllheli route.


My day is so much different at 9.30 with all the dark clouds but at least they were not rain clouds . a view across the dovey estuary towards Borth and the rspb nature reserve.


Penhelig and a view from the train accross the estuary. Penhelig and a view from the train accross the one and only street the estuary and towards the open sea From this point we travel along the cardigan coast or to some its the Irish sea,

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looking accross Aberdovey Sand dunes,

the remains of a POW camp at Llwyngwril

Windswept beech trees on the coast

Fairbourne and Morfa Mawddach looking over the estuary towards Barmouth

Coes-y-Faen from the Mawddach estuary bridge

the airfield closed in 2004 here they played with pilotless aircraft, IE what is now the drones"

Llanbedr Harbour

Llanbedr is a village in the Ardudwy area of Gwynedd, Wales.

The village originally grew around the slate quarrying industry. Attractions in Llanbedr include Neolithic standing stones and Bronze Age hut circles. The Morfa Dyffryn sand dunes and Mochras (Shell Island) lie nearby. It also boasts two public houses; Ty Mawr Hotel and The Victoria Inn.

A mile from the village is the hamlet of Pentre Gwynfryn which has an ancient chapel, Capel Salem. The inside of this chapel was made famous by the painter Sydney Curnow Vosper who painted a member of the congregation, Siân Owen, in traditional Welsh costume.

Llanbedr has a (disused) airfield which, until 2004, was operated by the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA), and QinetiQ as a launch site for remotely-piloted drone 'aircraft' for use as aerial targets by the RAF and other UK forces.[1] Opposite the airport is one of two NACATC units (National Air Cadets Adventure Training Centres) in the UK (the other being in the village of Windermere in the English Lake District)

To the north of the village is the smaller village of Pensarn, situated on the sea estuary where the river Artro enters the Irish Sea. This is the location of Llanbedr & Pensarn Yacht Club and the Christian Mountain Centre, a residential adventure activity centre.

At the southern entrance to the village is the former RAF complex of Maes Artro which featured in the paranormal television series Most Haunted.[2]

The village has a railway station (a little out of the village itself) served by the Ariva trains Wales . Llanbedr station was formerly known as Talwrn Bach Halt.My interest here is my sister inlaw lived here for 12 years Ian Of

http://www.interactives.co.uk/ built and run the sea life Aquarium in the village.

The Porthmadog web site http://www.porthmadog.co.uk/ I will put my oar in as I post my pics.
Welcome to Porthmadog, the base from which to explore all of Snowdonia; it is the gateway to the country’s most breathtaking National Park covering 840 square miles with its purple tipped mountains and forests.

From whichever direction the town is approached you cannot fail to be impressed by the town’s stunning setting. It is dominated on one side by a mountain known as ‘Moel y Gest' 262 metres above the town. To the North and East the wide expanse of the Glaslyn estuary, renowned as a haven for migrating birds and wildlife. extends dramatically towards the Snowdon range.

Porthmadog is a bustling town, full of individual shops and places to eat. It has with a strong and proud heritage, culture and community. The Welsh language is a key part of its identity, commonly spoken here and its people are particularly warm and friendly.

In this once great seaport, rich in maritime history and the home of the Ffestiniog Railway, you are ideally placed for visiting all of the main tourist attractions of Snowdonia on days out. With all the majesty of Snowdonia as a backdrop and a coastline with beaches second to none, you couldn't find a more attractive spot for a holiday.

Almost whatever you want from a holiday is available within easy reach of Porthmadog. Steam Railway buffs just love the place not only because of the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways. Jump on a train at either end of the town, enjoy the mountain scenery and talk endlessly of Fat Controllers, Thomas the Tank Engine and just everything there is to know about steam.

Travelling from the south, you enter into the town along the famous 'Cob', built to form the deep harbour from where great sailing ships carried around the world slate mined in Blaenau Ffestiniog. The Cob also carries the railway initially built to carry the slate from the quarries to the harbour.
click on the photos to enlarge

Ffestiniog Railway, you can read up on the trains etc on this link the train today was the green one. Iarll Meirionedd the red train also called by the same name was also pulling as the track was slippery.

shots taken as the train passes Llyn Mair,

the shot taken of the river Glaslyn from Tan-Y-Bwlch station.

Tanygrisiau. The Moelwyns protect the village from much of the wind from northerly gales in the winter and give the village a pleasant southerly aspect with relatively mild weather considering its location high in Snowdonia. However rainfall in the upper end of the Ffestiniog valley can be very high all year around